Social Security for Tea Plantation Workers in Assam

##### *Assam Tea Plantations Provident Fund Scheme*

• Provident Fund advances provided on grounds such as marriage, death ceremonies, medical treatment, higher/technical education, economic hardships, and house building.
• Settlement of a member's Provident Fund account upon retirement, termination, or cessation of employment.

##### *Pension Scheme*

• Full pensionary benefit paid after retirement at the age of 58 years, provided the member has a minimum period of service of 10 years.
• In the event of cessation of membership after 50 years and before 58 years, pension benefits are paid as per a prescribed schedule.
• Family Pension-cum-Life Assurance Scheme:
• A lump-sum one-time benefit of ₹2,000/- is immediately paid on the death of the tea plantation worker.
• A minimum monthly family pension of ₹1,000/- per month is provided.
• A maximum monthly family pension of ₹1,500/- per month is provided, depending on the Provident Fund balance of the member on the date of death.
• Timely disbursement of Family Pension claims is done within 7 days.

##### *Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme*

• A one-time monetary assurance benefit is paid to the nominee in the event of the death of an employee who was a member of the Provident Fund Scheme.
• A minimum assurance benefit of ₹1,00,000/- (previously ₹50,000/-) is provided to the nominee.
• A maximum assurance benefit of ₹2,00,000/- (previously ₹1,00,000/-) is provided to the nominee, equal to the amount of balance in the deceased member's Provident Fund account.
• Timely disbursement of Deposit Linked Insurance claims is done within 7 days.

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##### *Conditions*

• _The employee must contribute 12% of their wages, which includes dearness allowances, value of food concessions, and amounts received for plucking tea leaves._
• _The employer must contribute at the same 12% rate._
• _The employer is mandated to deduct the contributions from the employee and deposit the collected amount along with their own share into the Board&#39;s Account within 30 days._
• _If an employer fails to deposit the contribution within the prescribed time, a loss of interest at 15% per annum is charged on the employer for the defaulting period._
• _For the Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme, contributions are made by the Tea Garden Management at 0.50% and the Government of India at 0.25% of the gross annual wages._
• _For the Family Pension-cum-Life Assurance Scheme, the Government of India contributes 1 1/6% of the gross annual wages of a tea plantation worker._

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• The applicant must be an employee of a plantation or a tea factory in the state of Assam.
• The applicant must be receiving a monthly salary up to ₹15,000/- per month, or be a daily-wage worker.
• For full pensionary benefits, the member must retire at the age of 58 years with a minimum period of service of 10 years.
• For the Family Pension-cum-Life Assurance Scheme and the Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme, the member must expire while in service.
• For the Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme, the deceased employee must have a minimum Provident Fund balance of ₹1,000/- at credit on the date of death.

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##### Step 1:** *Accessing the e-Portal***

The employer or organization official must begin the process by accessing the official portal of ATEPFO. This portal acts as the centralized dashboard for all statutory submissions and online claims.

##### Step 2:** *Employer and Member Registration***

The employer must navigate to the &quot;Registration&quot; section on the portal to execute &quot;Employer Registration&quot; for their tea garden or factory. Following this, the employer must perform &quot;Member Registration&quot; for all eligible employees and daily wage workers from the very first day of their employment.

##### Step 3:** *Contribution Deduction and Deposit***

The employer must actively deduct 12% of the employees&#39; wages and match the contribution with their own 12% share. The employer then logs into the &quot;Employers Login&quot; section and utilizes the &quot;Quick Pay (Dues)&quot; facility to deposit the funds into the Board&#39;s account within the mandatory 30-day window.

##### Step 4:** *Claim Submission by Officials***

When a member requires an advance, reaches retirement, or in the event of a worker&#39;s death, the designated ATEPFO Officials log in directly from the tea gardens. They navigate to specific sections (&quot;Provident Fund Login&quot;, &quot;PENSION Login&quot;, &quot;Deposit Linked Insurance Login&quot;) to process and submit the statutory claim forms.

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##### *Status Tracking*

The submitted claims and complaint registrations are processed live on the portal. Members can monitor the progress of their claims, payments, and complaints directly through the &quot;Claim Status Check&quot; facility, the &quot;e-Passbook&quot;, or via the integrated SMS Gateway.

##### *Benefit Disbursal*

Upon successful verification, benefits such as family pensions or insurance assurances are disbursed to the beneficiary within 7 days.

##### *Grievance Redressal / Help &amp; Support*

Applicants and members can utilize the &quot;Register a Complaint&quot; and &quot;Complaint Status&quot; modules directly on the e-Portal. For further assistance, the official contact number is 0361-2300108, and the support email address is atppf@live.com.

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